A minor league hockey game takes place at Scarborough Arena Gardens in Toronto. LiveBarn’s technology is used to live-stream games in arenas across North America.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
A U.S. private equity firm has struck a US$400-million-plus deal to buy LiveBarn Inc., a Montreal company that livestreams amateur and youth sports games from thousands of arenas, courts and fields across North America over the internet.
Chicago-based GTCR, LLC agreed last month to buy LiveBarn according to two sources familiar with the matter. A portion of the financing is being provided by alternative asset management giant Ares Management ARES-N, a past LiveBarn backer, and management is rolling some equity over in the deal. The sale is being handled by Raymond James RJF-N.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources as they are not authorized to discuss the matter. Messages to LiveBarn CEO Farrel George Miller and chief operating officer Raymond Giroux – a former National Hockey League defenceman – and several company directors were not returned. GTCR’s public relations agency also did not reply to a message about the deal.
The purchase agreement has not yet been finalized, nor announced publicly. The deal requires the approval of the Industry Minister since it is a foreign takeover, as well as the blessing of Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, as LiveBarn is deemed a cultural business.
It is the latest deal in what Sportico, a publication tracking the business of sports, has described as an M&A boom in youth sports.
Meanwhile, deals for companies selling technology geared toward sports in general have been on the rise, according to U.S. investment banking firm Capstone Partners: The number of mergers and acquisitions jumped by nearly 50 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, with private equity acquirers actively pursuing sports technology deals, including KKR & Co. KKR-N, Juggernaut Capital Partners and Waud Capital.
GTCR itself announced this month it was forming Ascent Sports Group with consumer technology executive Gary Swidler to invest in what it called the fragmented market for technology serving the youth and amateur sports markets.
Also this month, Montreal-based Sportlogiq Inc., which uses artificial intelligence to generate advanced analytics for National Hockey League teams and sports broadcasters, was purchased by Teamworks, a U.S.-based consolidator in the space. Sportlogiq is a partner of Livebarn, providing advanced data and video insights to youth hockey players.
‘Remarkable’ tech tools transform youth sports leagues
Mr. Miller previously founded pioneering internet live-streaming service JumpTV Inc. in 1998 and sold the business in 2006 to a group including financier Scott Paterson. Mr. Miller owned a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team from 2007 to 2011 and founded LiveBarn in 2014.
LiveBarn’s fully automated system live streams games by tracking the flow of the action like NHL broadcasts, using a patented system that relies upon multiple cameras mounted around playing surfaces.
The company built its business by providing cameras for free to venues in exchange for exclusive streaming rights to games they hosted. It charges subscription fees and shares revenue with facility owners. That strategy enabled the company to grow quickly, providing an option during the COVID-19 pandemic for relatives of players to watch games from the safety of their homes.
LiveBarn’s service includes play-tracking and single game breakdowns that focus on individual player performance. Players can also post short clips to social media. Its cameras are installed at more than 4,000 playing surfaces in about 2,270 venues across 49 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces and territories.
The company’s revenues exceeded $50-million in 2023, according to Deloitte’s survey of fast-growing technology companies, and are now in the $80-million range. The company is also profitable.
LiveBarn has several brands, including GameOnStream, which streams hockey games in Ontario. Basketball and volleyball games are streamed via BeTheBeast, while MNHockey.TV is for Minnesota high school hockey games.
The company’s backers include the investment firms of two high profile Montrealers: Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. Other investors include Philadelphia-based Susquehanna Growth Equity, Rho Canada and BDC Capital Growth Equity Partners.
LiveBarn has also been involved in some controversy. A LiveBarn camera installed at an arena in Waterloo, Ont., to stream hockey games was left on and accidentally livestreamed children’s summer camps last July, though none of the streaming was downloaded and shared.
Some players have reportedly gotten into trouble by actions captured on LiveBarn feeds, including use of offensive language. In 2020 a LiveBarn feed revealed that two Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams had violated COVID-19 restrictions by holding practices outside of Winnipeg under a different team name. A screenshot from LiveBarn footage outed the teams, prompting an investigation by the league and Hockey Manitoba.
LiveBarn has also sued Black Bear Sports Group Inc., an operator of 42 ice hockey arenas across 11 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, accusing it of interfering with its business, unfair competition and unjust enrichment. LiveBarn alleged in a claim filed with the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in 2024 that Black Bear successfully poached some of its customers for its fledgling rival streaming service after sending them surveys requesting detailed information about their contracts with the Montreal company. A judge denied Black Bear’s motion to dismiss the case last July.